The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be making a first ever stop in Charm City this Spring with perhaps the biggest fighter in the world on top of the card.

UFC 172 will be held Saturday, April 26th at Baltimore Arena-the promotion announced Friday.

The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight championship fight with Jon “Bones” Jones defending against Brazilian fighter Glover Teixeira-who has won his last 20 fights. Jones has won 10 straight fights, including six defenses of the title he won in March 2011 by defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Jones is the younger brother of NFL Defensive Lineman Arthur Jones-who has played his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens including being a part of the Super Bowl XLVII Championship team last year. Jones is a free agent at the end of the season and many analysts believe he will end up signing elsewhere.

Jon Jones will be defending the title for the first time since a somewhat controversial unanimous decision victory over Alexander Gustafson at UFC 165 in September. He is currently the UFC’s #1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world and is viewed as the company’s top star currently after two consecutive losses and a gruesome injury suffered by Anderson Silva as well as the recent retirement of respected champion Georges St. Pierre.

The event will be the first UFC has held in Baltimore, although the company has held successful events just to the north (Philadelphia) and south (Washington). The Baltimore Arena has hosted nine “Shogun Fights” Mixed Martial Arts Promotions and is a regular stop for pro wrestling company WWE, who held a “Monday Night Raw” event there just this past week and will be returning for a similar televised event April 21. The Arena has also recently hosted preseason events for the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards and will host the CAA Basketball Tournament this March.

Shogun Fights-promoted by local former fighter John Rallo-had originally had their 10th event scheduled for April 26th at the Arena. Rallo-who lead the charge for Mixed Martial Arts to be regulated in the state of Maryland in the late 2000’s-announced Friday his promotion would move their event to June 21st and will remain at the Baltimore Arena.

Jon Jones has been a regular fixture in Baltimore since his brother was drafted by the Ravens, appearing regularly at practices and games during the four years. Jones recently did a full media tour of Charm City, stopping at WNST where he punched “The Reality Check Driven by Jerry’s Automotive” host Glenn Clark in the stomach for charity.

It was a pleasure for having UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones stop by the Zone Superstore Studios of WNST Thursday during “The Reality Check”.

Jon spent the last couple of days on a media blitz celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary. As part of his stop in Baltimore, he spoke to the Baltimore Ravens at their Owings Mills training facility. Jon’s brother is Arthur Jones-the Ravens DL who is playing very well in 2013. Here are the brothers chatting with the media, courtesy of our own Luke Jones.

After hanging out in Owings Mills, Jon was kind enough to head over to Towson to hang with Thyrl Nelson and I. We talked about a great number of topics, including his older brother’s sack dancing (and twerking?), Richie Incognito, hazing in UFC, his last fight against Alexander Gustafsson, his next fight against Glover Teixeira and so much more. If you missed any of it-take a listen in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here.

After the segment, Jon proved what a true champ he is-as he spent the next 15 minutes or so chatting with listeners that had come with donations to our annual canned good drive-helping to stock the food pantry for SARC in Harford County. Since I had told Jon I had always wanted to know what it felt like to get punched by him, he obliged me right there in the lobby in front of the guests.

As you MIGHT be able to tell from that video, Jon actually didn’t catch me flush on the first shot (although it still hurt like hell), so he wanted another punch. I negotiated with the listeners to get a promise they’d donate more canned goods, so I obliged Jon. This time he wanted to punch me in the stomach. I have absolutely no idea why, but I allowed it.

If I was single, you could bet your ass I’d walk around to every young lady I could find at every establishment in town and ask “Have you ever met a guy who’s taken two punches from the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World?”

Instead, I came home, watched Maryland trudge through a sloppy win and ate some Sun Chips with a few ice bags and a bottle of Ibuprofen.

Ravens TE Ed Dickson, DT Art Jones, T Michael Oher, G Kelechi Osemele and TE Dennis Pitta will serve as hosts for the 14th annual Goodwill Gridiron Halloween Party on Monday (10/28) at Dave & Buster’s (Arundel Mills Mall). They will be joined by approximately 15 Ravens teammates and more than 600 guests at the festive party.

The event features a night of bowling, billiards, video games and light fare, in addition to a silent auction. Guests with unique costumes will take part in a costume contest, judged by Ravens players in attendance.

The event benefits Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc., with all proceeds donated toward training and employment programs to help the disabled and underprivileged secure and retain jobs. Last year, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake provided services for over 33,000 individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment, placing 2,464 people into jobs.

Please note that this is a ticketed event. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.goodwillgridiron.com.